As a passionate educator I often make connections to just about everything in my personal life to education. Just the other day my son was trying to figure out something and after trial and error finally figured it out, I shouted "That's problem based learning," and my wife just shook her head. I recently picked up "The Lego Movie" at Family Video, because I heard great things about it, mostly from the humor side. I loved the movie, and it was hilarious. As I was watching, though, especially towards the end I was surprised at how much it actually relates to this whole philosophy of education I have been preaching and learning about lately.
Here is the gist of what I am talking about: The Lego Movie promotes creativity, innovation, and ingenuity. The entire story follows Emmett, the hero, as he tries to save the universe from President Business. President Business is trying to destroy the universe with the powerful weapon known as the Kragel (Krazy Glue). The entire city in which President Business operates is brainwashed into believing their daily life must be carried out by a specific set of instructions. Those who follow the instructions are rewarded. Emmett is a member of this society and soon finds out that he is "The special." He is the one who is going to stop President Business from destroying everything. The problem is Emmett can't think for himself, he has no original ideas (with the exception of the double decker couch), and he is not a leader. Over the course of the movie, though His mindset starts to shift, especially when he figures out that the master builders (the innovative, creative thinkers) are having issues working together.
I won't give away the ending, necessarily, but if you haven't seen it, you have been warned that there is a minor spoiler below. You find out that the entire story is being manipulated by a young boy who is in the basement of his house playing with Lego's that belong to his father. All these Lego's are off limits, and his father reprimands him for ruining what he already built. The boy is confused, as he was only playing and building and, much like Emmett, has found he can be a creative individual through this tinkering. The father (played by Will Ferrell) concludes that this is the true meaning of the toy and soon starts joining in.
So what does this all have to do with education? We want our kids to be creative, innovative thinkers, but often times we take away or condemn the very tools that allow them to do that. We are so focused on consistency and conformity in education, that creativity, curiosity, and innovation are taking a backseat, and then teachers get mad when students can't think for themselves. Teachers are still following text book curriculum and not designing curriculum to meet the creative needs of students. Or not allowing students to take an active role in curriculum design, which would be awesome. Emmett becomes a symbol of all students in the current (flawed) education system. President Business represents the corrupt system of consistency, and cookie cutter approach to education. Creativity and innovation are skill sets that are all too often not seen in our students because we don't allow for personalization. How can I be a creative individual when all I am told is I can't do this, or I have to do this? We need to start opening doors, or better yet let students open their own doors. When we conform to the current system we strip kids of these skill sets and we start seeing students like the early Emmett who can;t think for himself, does not have any original ideas, and cannot lead. He has been told his entire life to follow directions and conform to what everyone else is doing. That sounds horrible, but that is, unfortunately, what too many classrooms look like.
The best part of all of this? There is hope. Just as Emmett is able to learn how to become a creative, innovative thinker and a great leader, students can to. How though? Based on the movie, which I entirely agree with...it takes modeling, encouragement, and a change of the system. The only way Emmett was able to change was based on these three things. He was pulled out of that society where he was forced to conform. He was encouraged over and over again with great quotes from Vitruvius. He was shown what it takes by the master builders many times. If we as teachers change our classroom model, curriculum, and mindset, encourage our students to be creative and innovative, and model what creativity, leadership, and innovation look like in our daily life students will catch on. Let students take an active role, and let them make the choices. You cannot hold a student's hand and walk them through these skill sets. There is not a text book approach to becoming creative. You cannot take a test or complete a worksheet on creativity. It takes a personalized approach, and deeper learning focused on skill sets, not content, not information, not even projects or assessments. It's all about what you want your students to demonstrate and be able to do. The master builders needed Emmett to become a leader, so through the movie you see approaches, like problem solving opportunities, assessment of ideas and application of these ideas, chances to succeed or fail, and finally allowing for total control of a situation to become an effective leader through creative design. This is what we need to do for our students, they deserve it. And as Batman would say, "we are the heroes our students deserve." Let's start acting like it.
No comments:
Post a Comment